You know you’ve made it when your fanbase has a special name that they willingly call themselves. In Jinri Park’s case, her devoted and online-savvy fans have dubbed themselves “Jinjas.”
Jinri has been a DJ for RX 93.1 for over a year now, and in that span of time has seen her popularity skyrocket through her show, her Twitter feed and other social media avenues, events, magazine features, modeling and various other pursuits. Korean by birth, she spent much of her life in the Philippines, finishing high school in Cebu. When she moved to Manila a couple of years ago, she was, predictably, snapped up for TV and modeling and eventually radio work. “I don’t know how this happened, modeling and DJing,” Jinri says. “I guess I’m just really thankful that this all happened and that I’m actually enjoying what I’m doing.”
Prior to her move to Manila, such work was far from her mind. “Well, because in Cebu I was in high school, so I was a dork. I was really ugly. (Laughs) I’m not saying that I’m really pretty, but, you know, like I was in the library and I always studied, did extra homework.”
“After high school, I went to Korea and studied pre-med for two years, and then I missed the Philippines so much so I had to come back. I’m a Filipino, 100 percent, inside, although I look Korean.”
That could account for her intense and oft-declared love for Philippine music, or OPM as people still call it. “When I started becoming a DJ, that’s when I found out OPM is actually really, really good. But not a lot of Filipinos know about it, so it’s kind of sad, because a lot of Filipinos like K-Pop, sometimes even more than OPM. People actually pay a lot to watch international concerts here, like thousands, two-digit thousands. And they can’t pay like a P100, or P150 to watch an OPM band. So I kind of like the fact that I’m also promoting it in a way, like I’m helping out the community as a DJ.”
Jinri’s enthusiasm is catching. Aside from having bands on her show (and occasionally writing about them for her usually-relationship-oriented FHM column), she can be spotted at the gigs themselves, cheering for Chicosci, or Kamikazee (“Jay is so charismatic. I was shocked at how funny he is, and he really connects with the people,”) or Parokya ni Edgar (“I caught them at ‘70s Bistro, it was jam-packed. I couldn’t breathe, but it was worth it, because they were really good,”) or Wilderness (“Have you ever seen them play? I was just, like, blown away,”) among many other acts.
Jinri’s involvement with music is set to go even further; she’s been trying her hand at songwriting — the first draft lyrics on her blog aren’t half bad — and intends to learn how to play the guitar. There is no lack of local music figures (like Rico Blanco and Miggy Chavez) that are willing to help her out.
However, there’s no lack of things Jinri wants to do, either, especially now that it’s all happening for her. We discuss shows, publications, businesses, and other possible future ventures. “I have this Superwoman syndrome, I think I can do everything. I know I can’t, but I think I can.”
And she just might.
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Photographs by Bia Catbagan. Hair and makeup by Gex Garcia for L’Oreal Paris. Special thanks to Elena Andaya.